Nightmares
by Thunderstorm6
Summary: Dreams are bliss. But when each member of the group has nightmares that come true, dreams become hell...Ok, well, really bad...
1. Default Chapter

Nightmares

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Inuyasha characters, I'm just using them in my story. I am good.

Summary: The group's relationships grow as time goes on, but what will happen when nightmares that come true threaten them?

Chapter One-

            As the sun dropped towards the horizon, bathing the forest in a red glow, the crickets began to chirp. Doves cooed to each other, finding places to sleep for the night. A mild breeze rustled through, and shadows began to lengthen. The land's busy day was drawing to a halt.

            Suddenly the tranquility of the summer evening was broken by a sound. A high-pitched humming sound. It became louder, and from around the bend in the forest's trail came six figures. Inuyasha and Miroku walked out front, Kagome and Sango in the back and two smaller ones, Kilala and Shippo in the middle. It was Shippo who was making the incessant humming. "Wow, Kagome, I like this song!" he piped up, and the little fox demon jumped up on Kagome's shoulder to put the headphones of her walkman on her ears.

            "Ya, along with every other song on that blasted thing." Inuyasha muttered to Miroku. Miroku rolled his eyes up to the canopy. On Kagome's last visit to her own time, she had brought along this circular device that played songs he'd never heard before. Shippo seemed to like it, though, and had been humming the tunes for hours, changing the "seedees" as Kagome called them. Inuyasha would have whacked him by now if it weren't for Kagome's ability to sit him. _Damnit, _he thought to himself. Sango seemed to think it was funny.

            "We should set up camp here," announced Kagome as they came to a clearing, and as Shippo listened to the last song. "Fine by me," grunted Inuyasha, and he leapt up onto a tree branch to watch them do the work. When a fire was erected they made soup and had dinner. Then they rolled out sleeping bags next to the fire. Sango, Miroku and Shippo went out like a light, for the day had been a tiring one, and Kilala slept silently next to Sango. Kagome sat listening to her walkman and poking the fire with a stick. Inuyasha sat cross-legged beside her. He watched the fire reflect in her brown eyes, and heard the faint murmur of music escaping from the headphones. He didn't see how so many songs could come from almost paper-thin disks.

            "How do they work?" he asked her. No reply. Kagome just kept poking the fire with her stick.

            "Hello, Kagome, how do they work?" he tried again. Still no response. She didn't even seem to notice that Inuyasha had said anything. He started to get angry. Was she deliberately ignoring him? "KAGOME!" he shouted, almost waking up the others. She raised her head, and took off her headphones. "Oh sorry, did you say something? I couldn't hear you with my headphones on." She said, smiling. Inuyasha contained his anger and said, "I just was just asking how they work."

            "How does what work?" she asked.

            "The seedee thingers. How do they work?"

            "Oh, the CDs! Um, I'm not really sure, but I think that the songs are electronically written on them in codes. So when you put them into a CD player, they read them." She concluded.

            Inuyasha just blankly stared at her. "Do you want to listen?" she asked, holding up the headphones. "Yah right, I couldn't care less." He got up. "I'm going to get more firewood." The hanyou said, then stalked off into the woods.

            Kagome yawned. Inuyasha could be so stupid sometimes. She got into her sleeping bag and laid her head onto the pillow, watching the flames crackle and lick the air. Sleep began to overcome her. Suddenly she heard a crack, and looked to her right. She thought she saw a faint shimmer, but it was gone after she blinked. _Oh, come on, Kagome,_ she thought_, your eyes are just playing tricks on you. That's what you get for looking at the fire for so long_. Still, it had startled her. She laid her head back on her pillow as her heart rate returned to normal. _Anyways_, she thought_, Inuyasha will protect me from anything_. And as she looked through the fire she could see Inuyasha returning with an armful of firewood. Then her eyes became heavy, and she fell asleep.

            Inuyasha returned to the clearing and saw that Kagome was asleep. He quietly added the wood to the flames and sat across the fire from her, watching its light play across her features. Then he smiled, twitched his ears and closed his eyes. He was resting like that for some time, sitting up cross-legged with his hands in the sleeves of his kimono. Then he heard a noise, and his eyes flicked open. He looked around the clearing, and his eyes rested on Kagome. She was whimpering in her sleep, and twitching.

_Kagome walked through the old abandoned house. The only light came from broken panes of glass in the filthy windows. She could see the layers of dust on the rotting wooden floors and carpets, and cobwebs lined just about every corner. The air was musty and warm, but it still made her shiver. Plaster on the walls was discoloured and cracked. She continued walking down the hallway. Suddenly she heard a scuttling noise. She whipped her head around, trying to locate where it was coming from, but it seemed that it was gone. Kagome let out a sign and looked around to see a cloud moving through the hallway, towards her. She stared at it, and noticed that it was made out of small things. They looked like insects…cockroaches! Kagome screamed and took a step backwards, but the rotting wood broke and she crashed through the floor, falling on something soft. She looked underneath her, and found that she was lying on a hill of cockroaches. She screamed as the ones from the hallway fell through the wall on top of her…_

Inuyasha watched Kagome moan and roll around. What was happening? Was she okay? Should he wake her? He was becoming scared as she started to scream, but he didn't know what to do. Then Miroku woke up, and crawled over to her. He shook her, and she woke up and looked around. "Huh?" Kagome muttered. "I think you had a nightmare, but your alright now." Said Miroku, holding her close. A little too close, thought Inuyasha, and he growled. Miroku, who's hands had been beginning to roam a bit, stopped and let her go. The others woke up from the commotion, and he filled them in on what had happened.

Sango put her arm around Kagome's shoulders. "What was it about?" she asked. "Oh nothing, just…cockroaches. I really don't like them. I'm fine, I'm fine, I don't want to talk about it. Sorry I woke you guys up." She assured them. Sango grinned, and told her it was okay.

Kagome ran her fingers through her hair, sighed, and said, "I'm just going to get some food." She smiled and walked over to the bag of food, taking out the container that she had put dry cereal in.

The others heard her scream. They rushed over and saw the cockroaches scurrying from the container and from the bag. Miroku looked at Sango as Kagome ran off to the edge of the clearing. Inuyasha followed her. He found her sitting near a large bush. "Kagome, stop worrying like an old housewife. It was just a coincidence." He consoled her. She rolled her eyes at him. "Shut up, Inuyasha, cockroaches are one of my biggest fears, okay?" she spat. He snorted. "Yah, well, I'm not the one squealing during the night and waking everyone up!" She gave him a pained look and walked back to the campsite.

Miroku and Sango had cleaned up the roaches, and thrown out everything that they had been in . Now Miroku, Sango, Kilala and Shippo were going to bed again. "You should try to sleep again, Kagome, you probably won't have anymore dreams." Sango told her. Kagome smiled, but sat next to the fire again.

The others went to sleep, and when she heard their breathing, Kagome sighed. Yes, that must have been a coincidence. It was just that when she was little, some boys at school had put some on her, and she'd been afraid of the insects ever since. She sensed Inuyasha sitting beside her, but didn't look up.

"Are you alright?" he asked her. She nodded. They both sat watching the flames.

Waaaaa, that took a while to write. I hope you like it, I'm gonna work on the second chapter soon. Pleeeeeease read and review!


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two-  
  
Sango yawned as she woke up and rose from her sleeping bag. She smelled the aroma of bacon and toast, and turned to see Kagome making breakfast. Sango yawned again, brushed sleep from her eyes, and ambled over to her. Kagome looked up and smiled.  
"You're up!" she exclaimed.  
"Yuppers," said Sango. "Where's Inuyasha?"  
"I think he went off to sulk by himself for a while."  
Kagome, who had spent the rest of the night sitting by the fire, put some bacon and toast on two plates and handed one to Sango.  
"Should we wake him up?" Kagome asked, nodding towards the sleeping Miroku, who had his head imbedded in the pillow, where a faint trail of drool could be seen.  
"No, let him wake up on his own. Gives us some privacy for a bit," Sango replied, regarding the monk thoughtfully. She was referring to Miroku's slight tendency to try to touch their bottoms at any possible chance. Kagome smiled. They both sat munching on their breakfast, watching the beautiful morning. Rays of sun filtered down through the leafy canopy lining the clearing, and birds flitted from branch to branch, singing melodious songs. Dew on the grass was beginning to dry up.  
Suddenly Miroku let out a large snort and sat up. He stretched and yawned.  
"Morning, ladies," he said as he reached for a plate.  
  
Inuyasha walked through the forest. Once in a while he would hold up a finger and his claw would slice through a thin branch hanging low to the ground. Walking helped him think, and this morning he needed to think. Was the cockroach thing really a coincidence? Ya, of course it was, stupid, he thought. Kagome sure had seemed scared, though. He hated seeing her scared. But fear was for the weak. And he sure wasn't weak.  
As Inuyasha walked back toward the clearing, he heard loud, disgruntled noises. Miroku's probably gone into pervert mode again, he thought to himself. And as he rounded the corner, he found himself correct. Shippo was on Kagome's shoulder, and they were both watching Sango yell at Miroku, who sported a hefty slap mark on his cheek.  
"Ughghggggh!" Sango yelled, "Why do you always do that?" Then she sighed and sat down. Inuyasha snorted and walked over to the group. Shippo looked at him.  
"Inuyasha, has anything like that ever happened to you?" he asked innocently.  
Inuyasha gave him the most terrifying look he had ever seen. Shippo squeaked and started running just as Inuyasha lunged at him. He chased him in circles as Kagome rolled her eyes.  
"Inuyasha..." she said.  
"What?" he growled, lunging again. He had almost caught the damn pest.  
"SIT!"  
He went face first into the ground. Shippo returned to Kagome's shoulder and smiled. Inuyasha looked incredibly mad, but Shippo knew that he wouldn't try catching him again while Kagome was around, at least for a while. Instead he heaved himself up with a snarl and sat glowering at them.  
  
"Um, alright then," said Miroku, rubbing his own injury. "Since our supplies have been a bit depleted," Inuyasha sensed Kagome shiver, "I propose that we go to the nearest town and get some more." They all agreed, packed up, and set off.  
When they broke through the tree line of the forest, Miroku spoke up, "Inuyasha, can you smell a river nearby?"  
"Duh, I've smelled it for a while now. Its over that way." He pointed towards another tree line to the west. As they began walking, Miroku filled them in.  
"This village is by the Kamu river, and the people make their living by fishing, for the river is very large. We probably should follow it until we reach the town."  
A few hours later they reached the trees, and Kagome could hear the rushing of water. She noticed that everything was becoming very rocky, and the trees looked a bit twisted, like the growing seasons had been tough for a few years. The group wound their way down a steep embankment in the trees. Kagome felt soothed by the rustling of wind in the trees, and closed her eyes. She breathed in the fresh air, and suddenly tripped over a rock jutting out of the sheer slope. She let out a sharp scream as she started to fall.  
Inuyasha caught her just in time. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her back into a standing position.  
"Are you okay?" he asked for the second time in the last 24 hours.  
"Yah, I'm alright," she said, catching her breath.  
They began moving again, but Inuyasha kept his hand on Kagome's shoulder for a moment. Um, what is he doing? She thought. Then he let go, and continued walking.  
  
The sun was setting again as they reached the top of a sheer cliff. Sango looked to the horizon and saw the sun sinking below the trees on the opposite bank of the river, bleeding deep yellow, orange and crimson. She looked to Miroku and noticed the light on his face, making faint shadows.  
"I think that we should stay here for the night," the monk announced.  
"Oh, it's so beautiful!" exclaimed Kagome, also gazing off into the sunset.  
The group didn't bother to make a fire, for the night would be a warm one. The sun had baked the earth, and it would stay warm. Instead of the usual supper of ramen or soup, they ate some of Kagome's cookies. Wow, this isn't very healthy...she thought. Her mother wouldn't dream of having a meal entirely consisting of junk food. Yet Kagome didn't care, and laughed as she watched Inuyasha devour an Oreo.  
Inuyasha gulped down the last of the crumbs and looked critically at her. "What's so funny?!" he demanded. It kind of peeved him off when people laughed at him, but he liked seeing Kagome laugh. He himself didn't do it very often, and he enjoyed seeing her happy.  
Kagome stopped laughing and noticed him suppressing a smile.  
"Do my eyes deceive me, or do I see a smile?" she laughed.  
"Feh, I wasn't smiling, why would I smile?" Inuyasha defended himself.  
"Yes you were! I saw you, what's your problem?" she retorted.  
Shippo rolled his eyes as the two began throwing insults back and forth. The little kitsune made his way over to Miroku and Sango with a cookie in his mouth, and the three of them listened to the 'battle'.  
"I was not smiling!"  
"Yes you were!"  
"Why in the hell do you think I was smiling?"  
"Well sorry, but I just assumed that when the corners of someone's mouth turns up and you can see their teeth, that would be a smile, stupid. S-M-I-L-E. Would you like me to go home and look it up in a dictionary?"  
"What's a dictionary? Wait, what do I care? You're stupid."  
Amid the fire Miroku looked over at Sango and smiled. She looked over and smiled at him too, rolling her eyes. They held each other's gaze for a few moments, then averted their eyes when a screamed challenge came from Kagome.  
"I'll bet that I can make you smile again!" she yelled at the hanyou.  
"Pu-lease, you have no chance! Bring it on!" Inuyasha yelled back.  
Kagome grinned evilly. Then she put her fingers in her mouth and pulled her lips apart, sticking her tongue out. Inuyasha sat still across from her, his mouth a straight line. So she crossed her eyes and made a smile that didn't exert intelligence, to say the least. Inuyasha's mouth twitched, but not enough for anyone to see. Shippo bounced over and joined Kagome. She put the tips of her fingers in her nostrils and pulled up, so that she looked like a pig, and Shippo squished his cheeks with his hands. They both saw Inuyasha smile before he quickly turned away.  
"Hah, you smiled!" Kagome exclaimed.  
"Kagome wins!" squealed Shippo. But Inuyasha didn't look impressed.  
"I did not smile! Why are you people so stupid? Just leave me alone, you idiots!"  
And with that he stomped off towards the forested area.  
Kagome looked after him. Sango sighed, looking at the sun, which was now below the horizon.  
"Well, we should be getting to sleep now," she said.  
Kagome looked back at them and smiled.  
"I'll be back in a while," she told them, and made off in the direction Inuyasha had gone.  
Sango sighed again and laid down in her sleeping bag. She was asleep soon, and Miroku watched her calm breathing. Then he thought he noticed a shimmery gray figure in the bushes, but shook his head. He stayed sitting against a tree while the last remnants of light from the sun vanished from the sky.  
  
Kagome walked through the forest, and came to a large oak tree. There she saw Inuyasha sitting on a branch, outlined by the moon.  
"You know, you can be a real jerk sometimes," she called up to him. He snorted.  
"I just don't see why you have to be so reserved all of the time. Why can't you just laugh with the rest of us? Why can't you have fun?" she asked in a quieter voice.  
"I don't need to spend my time giggling like an idiot. I've got better things to do with my time," Inuyasha said, sounding annoyed, not looking at her.  
"Oh. Well, I'm sorry if Shippo and I upset you. I just like seeing you happy," Kagome said.  
Inuyasha turned around and looked at her. "You don't have to be sorry. I can take it. Do people in your time always act so mushy?"  
"What? Mushy! I was just making sure that you didn't do something stupid!" she started yelling. Then she looked up and saw him bracing himself to the tree. "What are you doing?" she asked him.  
"Waiting for you to sit me," he said with his eyes squeezed shut.  
Kagome laughed. "I'm not going to sit you, at least not now." And she went over and sat at the base of the tree.  
  
Sango was falling. She couldn't see anything but gray, and couldn't find anything to hold onto. Then, with a splash, she fell into sludgy black water. She was engulfed by it, and began trying to swim for the surface. But she had a lot of clothes on, and they were made heavy by the piercingly cold liquid. Sango flailed out for something to save her, but all she aquired was a handful of wetness. Her lungs started burning. She tried to gulp in air, but her throat was filled with water. Her movement became slower and slower, until she bagan sinking into the watery black abyss...  
  
Sango gasped and sat up. She was sweating, and realized that it was a nightmare.  
"Are you alright?" Miroku asked, looking concerned.  
"Uh huh, I just had a nightmare," she said, looking at the river across from them.  
"What was it about?" the monk asked.  
"I was...drowning. And I couldn't even swim, everything was dark," she shuddered. Miroku leaned over and hugged her.  
"Are you afraid of the water?" he asked.  
"No, I've just always hated the thought of drowning. That would be the worst way to..." she stopped as she felt his roving hands on her butt. "DIE!" she yelled, smacking Miroku in the face. She smacked him a few more times for good measure, then rose and walked over to the water. She looked into the fast moving current of the river, and began walking along the bank, thinking to herself.  
Suddenly the bank beneath her began to crumble, and she let out a short scream as she plunged toward the water. She hit it with a splash, and went under. And then her clothes began weighing her down, just like in her dream...  
"Sango!" cried Miroku, and he ran full length at the river, and dove into the icy cold water.  
  
Inuyasha and Kagome both heard the scream at the same time.  
"That sounded like Sango," exclaimed Kagome, rising from the roots of the oak. Inuyasha bounced down beside her, took her hand and said, "Come on."  
He pulled her through the forest toward the direction it came from. Fortunately, they weren't that far from the campsite, and they emerged from the trees quickly. But when they got there they couldn't see Sango or Miroku, just Kirara looking distressed and Shippo still sleeping.  
"Where are they?" asked Kagome, looking around her. Inuyasha let go of her hand, twitched his ears and nose, and ran to the cliff's edge. There he saw Miroku struggling to swim with Sango in his arms.  
Inuyasha climbed down the sheer cliff with the aid of his claws and took her from Miroku. He climbed back up with her and laid her out beside Kagome. Then he went back down to help the monk, and when they both got back up they saw Kagome pushing repeatedly on Sango's chest with her hands.  
"I'm doing CPR," she gasped to the two of them. Then Sango started violently coughing up water and looked around.  
"What happened?" she choked.  
"You fell into the water Sango, off the cliff. Do you not remember?" answered Miroku.  
She suddenly looked shocked, like she had just understood some horrible coincidence.  
"It was in my dream..." she said, almost whispering.  
"What was in your dream?" Kagome asked. Sango looked over to Miroku.  
"She had a nightmare about falling into water and drowning," he said gravely.  
Kagome looked at Inuyasha, astonished. These coincidences were getting stranger.  
  
hiya guys! Sorry it took so long for this chapter, and sorry it's so choppy, but it's the end of the year and I'm doing all these exams and summatives. I hope to get new chapters in sooner! 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 

Shippo woke up to find everyone awake. They all had dark circles under their eyes and looked tired. Miroku was sitting cross-legged beside Sango, who was wrapped in blankets. Kagome was sitting with her arms hugging her knees, looking off into space, and Inuyasha was beside her with his eyes closed. Kirara was curled up on Sango's lap.

Shippo stretched and said with a yawn, "Hey, why is everyone so tired looking? Didn't you guys get enough sleep last night?"

Inuyasha snorted. "Little runt slept through the whole thing."

Kagome picked up Shippo and set the little kitsune in her lap. "Sango fell into the river by accident last night," she told him.

Shippo's eyes widened. "She did? Are you okay?" he squealed, hopping over to the demon exterminator.

"Oh yes," Sango said with a weak smile, "I just have a little cold, that's all." They didn't bother mentioning Sango's nightmare, it would just scare him. After a meager breakfast, when Sango was fully dry, the group set off following the river.

"The village should be about a day-and-a-half's walk from here," Miroku announced as they came to a large bend in the river. The day was quite uneventful. Shippo continued listening to Kagome's walkman and humming the tunes. Inuyasha whacked him once and got sat. Miroku stayed close to Sango, who coughed occasionally.

The sun was setting as they reached the part of the riverbank that rose in a gentle slope up to the trees. They ascended it in silence, for they were too drowsy to talk. Shippo had fallen asleep in Kagome's arms. She gasped at how beautiful the forest looked at sunset. The red light of the sun shone through the green foliage, making long shadows along the trail. Inuyasha looked sideways at her and smirked. Suddenly, he noticed a silvery shimmering to Kagome's right, far into the forest. Then it disappeared. Inuyasha frowned and sprinted off after it.

"You keep on going, I'll be right back," he called back to his stunned companions. So Miroku, Sango, Kirara and Kagome continued walking while he bounded through the darkening underbrush.

Inuyasha came to the place where he had seen the figure and sniffed. Nothing was there, and he couldn't sense that anything had ever been. _Damn, _he thought, _I was sure I saw something. _After a moment he headed back to the group.

Kagome sighed. _Inuyasha's probably sensed Kikyo again. _She got depressed when he did this. But then she smiled when she heard him coming back, rustling some foliage. He couldn't have seen her in such a short amount of time! _I'm so pathetic, _she thought to herself, _getting jealous of every little thing. _Suddenly Shippo started thrashing in her arms and she almost dropped him.

"Shippo!" she called to him. He snapped awake, fear in his big eyes.

"Kagome! The trees, they were trying to get me!" he said in a terrified voice.

"Shhh, Shippo, it was just a nightmare... I'm here..." she cooed to him. Then she heard a swish, and looked above to see a giant tree branch swinging in her direction.

Inuyasha saved her just in time. She felt him picking her up and jumping away, then heard an enormous BANG. Kagome looked around to see that the branch had gouged a deep trench where she had just been standing. Shippo was petrified in her arms.

Then more of the tree branches in the forest began swinging at them. Inuyasha hit the ground with Kagome in his arms, and looked over to see Miroku, Sango and Kirara trying to fend others off. Then a huge oak bent its whole trunk and took a swing at them. Inuyasha leapt and began twisting and turning through a maze of swaying tree limbs. He flinched as a sharp branch grazed his cheek and landed again.

"Get on my back!" he yelled to Kagome. She had just jumped on and wrapped her arms around his shoulders when they barely avoided another one. Inuyasha unsheathed the Tetsaiga and swung it in front of him, cutting a pathway to Sango, Miroku and Kirara.

"Come on!" he yelled to them, and they jumped on Kirara's back and followed him. The group frantically passed through the narrow tunnel Inuyasha was cutting, with more branches filling in behind them. Then the swinging trees finally started thinning out. With a final swing, Inuyasha and the rest hurtled out of the forest.

Kagome slipped off Inuyasha's back and they all looked back to see the trees swinging wildly behind the edge of the woods. Then they slowed their motions, and finally ceased movement. Kagome turned to Inuyasha.

"Thank-you, Inuyasha," she told him. He cocked his eyebrow.

"For what? It's not like I don't save your life all the time," he spat. She rolled her eyes and looked down at Shippo in her arms. The poor kitsune was wide-eyed and shivering.

"Oh, Shippo, its alright. Its over now..." she cooed, hugging him.

"Well, that was unexpected," said Miroku. "You know, maybe these occurrences _do _have something to do with our bad dreams."

"Pulease! Trees trying to kill you has nothing to do with a bunch of stupid nightmares," said Inuyasha. "It's probably the work of Naraku." Miroku narrowed his eyes, thinking.

"Yes, it would seem so. But three instances so far have uncannily resembled our nightmares. Kagome dreams of cockroaches and they appear in her food. Sango dreams of drowning, then almost drowns in the river. And now Shippo has a nightmare about the trees..." Miroku started to walk while pondering. Kagome was about to mention the deep scratch on Inuyasha's cheek when she noticed the direction Miroku was walking. The monk, while deep in thought, did not seem to notice that he was walking towards the trees.

"Miroku!" cried Sango as a long branch whipped out and struck him in the head. The monk fell back towards them, unconscious. Inuyasha pulled him away from the ferocious treeline.

"Oh my gosh, is he okay? Is he going to be alright?" Sango said from beside him, concern all over her face. Kagome knelt down and touched Miroku's head where the tree had hit him.

"I'm no expert, but I think he'll be alright. It didn't get him anywhere near the temple," Kagome told her. All of them relieved, they dragged him off toward a hill.

* * *

_Miroku hurried through the blurry streets of the village, looking left and right at the men he passed. He didn't know what he was looking for, but what he did know with a panicked intensity, was that he needed to find it soon. Everything seemed to be blurred around the edges, like a strong wind was tugging at them. The whole place seemed extremely surreal, but Miroku ran on, trying to reach his goal. Suddenly he came to a building in which he could see faint lights, and burst through its front doors. Inside were a bunch of shadowy figures huddled around a fire pit._

"_Excuse me," Miroku heard himself say while he stepped towards them. "Where are the women?" He watched as one of the figures turned around. His face was so misty that Miroku couldn't see his features, but he could tell that he was old by his voice._

"_Women you say?" asked the man, then giggled like a lunatic. "Heeheehee, hey didya hear that?" he said, turning back to his companions. "He wants to know where all the women are!" Miroku watched, amazed, as they laughed._

"_What? Tell me, where are they?" he urged them. Another old man turned to him, but this time Miroku could see his features; he had a total of three yellowing teeth, bloodshot eyes and his face was covered in wrinkles._

"_Oh, dear, sonny. There ain't no women anymore! Disappeared ages ago," he said to the horrified monk. "I guess you're stuck with us!" _

_Miroku fell to his knees. No women? His whole world was crumbling around him. _

"_Noooooooooooooooo!" he screamed._

"Miroku! Wake up!"

Sango shook Miroku out of his nightmare. The monk sat up and looked at her through wide eyes.

"Oh Sango, dear, dear Sango." Miroku said, pulling her into a hug.

"Uh, Miroku?" Kagome asked. Her and Inuyasha were sitting a few feet away with their eyebrows raised. Shippo, who seemed to have recovered from last night, was in Kagome's lap.

"I think that tree branch rattled his brains," the kitsune whispered to them. Miroku, while _innocently _embracing her, moved his hands down...

SLAP! Miroku now sported to lumps on his skull, one from the tree and another from Sango's hefty backslap. Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"Well, it seems Miroku's alright. Now lets get going." The group packed up and continued down the river, staying away from the trees. Eventually it began to rain a little.

They walked through the misty morning, Kirara and Shippo running out in front, Inuyasha and Miroku walking in the middle, and Sango and Kagome trailing behind, having a conversation.

"Why do they always have to talk?" mumbled Inuyasha to Miroku. "They do it constantly." Miroku grinned.

"You have a lot to learn about girls, my friend. Talking and gossiping is like second nature to them," the monk filled him in. Inuyasha snorted. Suddenly Kagome started giggling uncontrollably, closely followed by Sango.

Inuyasha yelled without turning to them,"you better not be talking about me!"

The laughing stopped abruptly. Inuyasha snorted again.

"About time they listen to me." But when no sharp retort came from Kagome, they both turned around. The girls were nowhere to be seen.

"What the hell?" gasped Inuyasha.

"Where did they go?" said Miroku, looking around him. Since they had avoided the treeline, there was nothing in sight to hide behind. The evening was a bit misty because of the rain, but not enough to conceal a person. It was as if they had just vanished into thin air. Shippo and Kirara had wandered back to them.

"Hey, where have Kagome and Sango gone?" Shippo asked. Inuyasha didn't even hit him on the head. He was getting panicky. There was no way they could have run out of sight in that short amount of time.

"Kagome!" he called. "Kagome!"

Miroku, equally panicked, muttered, "this is just like my nightmare..." Inuyasha whipped around to face the monk.

"What did you _do_?"

* * *

Kagome awoke. As she opened her eyes, a bright light almost blinded her. She heard a cold laughing sound. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she groaned.

"Kagome!" called Sango, from somewhere to Kagome's left. As her eyes attuned, she could see a large silver figure coming closer to them...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

As the figure came closer and became visible, Sango heard Kagome gasp. It was in the shape of a woman, but completely covered with a fluid, silver, liquidy substance. The stuff never dripped, it just wavered and rippled around her body. A light was shining from her, not on her, like it was emitted from the creature's very essence, and was the only light around them. Sango felt a sense of foreboding and looked around. They were in what seemed like an endless black room. An intense cold filling her, the demon exterminator felt the strength coming back to her body and struggled against the invisible bonds holding her.

"There is no use to struggle. Relax," said the creature in a chillingly calm voice. When Sango continued fight the bonds, it continued, "or I shall take stricter measures. Did you like the river?"

Sango stayed still. It smiled, or what Sango and Kagome thought was a smile, for its only visible features were indented pits for eyes, which crinkled like in a grin.

"Where are we?" asked Kagome.

"You are nowhere really. This place is just the result of that monk's nightmare, a void. Did you really not realize that by now?" the thing mocked. Kagome was shocked. So the dreams they were having really _did_ have something to do with the strange happenings.

"Who are you?" Kagome continued her interrogation.

"Such questions are useless."

"Are you the one who's been messing with our dreams?" she persisted.

-

Miroku took a step back from Inuyasha.

"I didn't do anything. Nightmares don't have anything to do with real life, remember?" he raised his eyebrow to the hanyou. Inuyasha snorted and looked around.

"Well, then where could they have gone?"

The mist was beginning to turn into a heavy fog, which would make finding Sango and Kagome a lot harder. Inuyasha and Miroku yelled their names. Shippo sat on the monk's shoulder and joined in. Kirara paced around at their feet. Inuyasha had never felt so powerless to help Kagome as the murky, white mist engulfed them.

-

Sango and Kagome stared as the creature looked up, as if rolling its eyes.

"Well? Answer!" shouted Sango. It only chuckled. Kagome's invisible bonds were beginning to dig into her skin and irritate her.

"Tell us, you worthless piece of crap!" she yelled in a fit of frustration that would rival Inuyasha. She was feeling a mixture of fear, pain, and annoyance. This didn't seem to go over well with the creature, though. It quickly reached out its arm and wrapped its long fingers around Kagome's throat.

"Kagome!" cried Sango.

Kagome tried to gasp, but couldn't. The creature's touch seemed to be made of pure ice. A freezing, bitter feeling filled her entire body, sending sharp bolts of pain through her. It was unbearable, but the thing wouldn't let go. Kagome began to see silver mist clouding her vision, which was strange because they were in a black nothingness. She felt like she would never be warm again. Just before Kagome was about to pass out, the creature let go.

"Do not interfere or meddle around in matters that you cannot understand," it hissed as she gulped for air, "I have orders and I am seeing them out. Now shut up."

They watched as it turned away and began humming in an eerie, high-pitched voice. Sango looked anxiously at Kagome, who was breathing very hard. She looked at Sango and nodded, showing that she was alright.

Then Sango perked her head up, as if she had heard something. Kagome stopped breathing, trying to listen to whatever the demon hunter had heard. She strained her ears, then heard a faint noise, or many faint noises. The two girls listened to what sounded like scared, anxious women.

Sango couldn't believe it. "There must be hundreds of them here!" she whispered as they made out many more of the womens' voices.

"I'll bet Naraku is behind this, somehow…"

Inuyasha and Miroku ran toward the village. After thoroughly searching the area where Kagome and Sango had disappeared, the two decided that they should get help in the nearby village.

"Perhaps they know something about disappearances in this area," Miroku yelled as the wind whipped past them. He was holding Kirara in his arms, and Shippo was holding onto Inuyasha for dear life.

"They'd better," growled Inuyasha. As they came to the edge of the houses, a loud wailing came from down one of the streets. They fell silent and peered into the darkness. Nothing was there. Inuyasha and Miroku looked at each other. Miroku nodded, and they crept into the shadows of the buildings. At first they didn't hear or see a soul, but eventually, as they turned a corner, a human-like shape hurried toward them. Inuyasha gripped the hilt of Tetsusaiga, ready to fight if need be. But as it came closer, they could see that it was just a man.

He looked at them with mournful eyes and said, "Have you seen any women recently? Please, tell me."

Miroku looked shocked. "No, but that's why we've come here. We are looking for two of our friends, also women. What has happened?"

"We're not sure," the man sighed. "All we know is that the women in our village disappeared last night. When we woke up, they were all gone. And not a footprint was left in the sand outside our houses, to tell us where they'd gone. I've lost my wife and daughter. I just can't fathom why they'd leave in the middle of the night, or why someone would have taken them…"

"Where is everyone else?" demanded Inuyasha.

"They've all gone on a search, to look for them. I was to stay here if they came back."

Inuyasha and Miroku glanced at each other again. It would be wise to go and help them, but they also should stay where Kagome and Sango had disappeared, in case they found clues or they came back. Miroku came to a simple conclusion.

"Inuyasha, you take Shippo and Kirara and go wait back in the clearing," he said. Inuyasha snorted.

"I ain't sitting around doing nothing! I should be with all those people out there looking for them!"

Miroku sounded a little more aggravated than he already was as he spoke. "Inuyasha, think rationally now. We last saw Sango and Kagome in the clearing. Do you not think that one of us should remain there, lest there is any sign of them? And if you're wondering why _you _should be the one to go, it's obvious that I'm, how might I phrase this, _less annoying and troublesome around humans. _Just go."

Inuyasha gave Miroku a horrid look, and without another word he grabbed Kirara and ran off, back in the direction of the clearing.

Kagome and Sango listened as the women's voices grew louder.

"Where are we?"

"What's going on?"

"I'm cold…"

"Why is it so black?"

Kagome suddenly felt pity for these women. It must be a great shock for them to suddenly find themselves in a cold black abyss, torn from there families. And they probably didn't know much about magic or demons, so the situation would be even more distressing. She also heard the faint cries of some young girls among the countless women.

"You're not going to let us out, are you?" she called to the creature, whose eerie light was still visible.

An echo-like laugh rang through the black void. "What would be the point? I quite enjoy all of these frightened minds close together. It's much easier to immerse myself in the nightmares… No, I think I'll just leave you here and take pleasure in the 'company'"

Kagome heard Sango beside her, and from the faint silver light she could make out the demon hunter struggling against the invisible bonds. _All for nothing, _Kagome thought, _I can't see any way of getting out of here. We're trapped…_All she could do was dispair.

Then her thoughts drifted to all of the things she'd miss while hanging in darkness; she'd miss graduation, getting a job, going to the mall. She'd miss her friends, her grandfather's crazy excuses for her absences. She'd miss her mother, and Sota growing up. And she'd miss Inuyasha… she would never see him walking beside her, rolling his eyes, smirking, even smiling. Never again…

Yet as she thought of this, Kagome grew more determined to get out. She would not miss a thing. She was going to see Inuyasha again. Then, unexpectedly, she felt a slackening at her wrists. She looked at them, amazed. They were glowing with an extremely faint light, almost too light to see, but a pale purple color. Her wrists slowly came free from the bonds.

Sango stopped struggling and watched, astounded, as Kagome took her hands away. She didn't into the black abyss, but stayed in the same place. They looked at each other with wide eyes. Apparently the creature did not notice that she was freeing her wrists, because it did not turn around.

Kagome rubbed her wrists, and realized that this was her chance. She had to obstruct the creature's powers, somehow… with her arrows! She reached back to check if her bow and quiver were still strapped to her knapsack. They were. Kagome slowly, silently, took the bow and an arrow. She ever so carefully fitted the arrow to the string, raised the bow, pulled back as far as her strength would allow… and fired.


End file.
